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The chairman of the state Senate committee tasked with overseeing the gaming industry uses taxpayer dollars to travel on a private jet owned by an industry lobbyist.

“It’s just a means of travel for me,” said Naples Republican Garrett Richter. “My district is about as far from Tallahassee as it can be.

It’s legal for a lawmaker to fly on a lobbyist’s plane as long as the trip is paid for. Richter, chairman of the Senate’s Select Committee on Gaming, says he pays for the trips out of pocket and is later reimbursed by the state.

His committee is set to take up legislation next week outlawing the gaming centers, which Richter says he supports. The issue was placed in the spotlight this week after federal investigators shuttered 58 centers tied to St. Augustine-based Allied Veterans, which is at the focus of the probe.

Lobbyist Dave Ramba’s client list includes Frontier Internet Sweepstake Games, a company that makes software for the casino-style games commonly found in gaming centers. He owns a charter plane company and is a licensed pilot.

“I fly lots of people around; charter pilots do that,” he said. “I’ve been flying that plane a long time before Richter was gaming chairman.”

Richter and a handful of other area lawmakers use the plane to travel between their Southwest Florida districts and Tallahassee.

“It’s no different than renting than a car,” Richter said.

He said other lawmakers that fly occasionally are Republican Reps. Kathleen Passidomo of Naples, Heather Fitzenhagen of Fort Myers and Matt Caldwell of Lehigh Acres. They could not be reached for comment.

“What happens is we say the plane is going, do you want to come?” Richter said. “They only do it when their schedule allows.”

Richter says the flights cost $2,400, which is split by members using it for that trip. He was not sure how many times he has traveled on the plane.

Ramba said he flies lots of people, including lawmakers, as part of his business. He says flying elected officials is an age-old tradition in Tallahassee.

“Lobbyists have been flying lawmakers for years,” he said. “It’s nothing new.”

Matt Dixon: (904) 716-8789

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